Combination seesaw and merrygo-round



June 6, 1961 R. L. VAN VLAKE 2,987,315

COMBINATION SEESAW AND MERRY-GO-ROUND Filed Feb. 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 III ,7 Richard L. Van V/ake INVENTOR.

1/ la WW 3% June 6, 1961 R. L. VAN VLAKE COMBINATION SEESAW AND MERRY-GO-ROUND 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1959 Rib/10rd L. Van V/a/re 1N VEN TOR.

United States Patent i 2,987,315 COMBINATION SEESAW AND MERRY- GO-ROUND Richard L. Van Vlake, P.O. Box 118, Georgetown, S.C. Filed Feb. '5, 1959, Ser. No. 791,412 2 Claims. (Cl. 27230) This invention relates to amusement devices and more particularly to a combination seesaw and merry-go-round.

An object of the invention is to provide a combination amusement device which is rugged and inexpensive to produce and which furnishes children with the amusement of two individual devices namely, a merry-go-round and a seesaw.

One of the features of the invention is the locking mechanism used to convert between a seesaw and merrygo-round. A single pin lock is all that is necessary for holding the seesaw board in a horizontal plane so that it functions as a merry-go-round. One or two locking bolts are all that are required to retain the turntable in a fixed position when the amusement device is being used as a seesaw.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination seesaw and rnerry-go-round wherein standard plumbing parts are, by and large, all that are required to manufacture the tilting mechanism for the seesaw. This takes the. place. of comparatively expensive articulated joints ordinarily required to produce the selected motions of the board.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a space saving amusement device thatis versatile, rugged, safe, and easily adjusted to function as a seesaw, a merry-goround or to function as a device capable of having the board rock as well as rotate that is, an amusement device where the children may not only rock about a substantially horizontal fulcrum but also rotate about a vertical axis when the children are on the board.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the amusement device showing it being used as a merry-go-round.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the device in 1 showing it used as a seesaw.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken approximately along the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of a part of the turntable mechanism of the combination amusement device.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 4 and showing principally a grease fitting for the vertical spindle of the mechanism in FIG- URE 4.

In the accompanying drawings there is an amusement device 10 which functions as a seesaw, a merry-go-round or a combination of both. An elongate flat board 12 constitutes the seat for the children and has upper and lower reinforcing metal plates 14 and 16 at the center thereof. These are connected in place on board 12 by bolts 18 and nuts, A pair of parallel depending reinforcing brackets 20 and 22 are welded or otherwise secured to the lower surface of plate 16 and they have plumbing or electrical supply fittings 24 and 26 welded 2,987,315 Patented June 6, 1 961 thereto. These fittings are also welded to the lower surface of plate 16,and they are internally threaded.

There are means connected with the couplings 24 and 26 to mount the board 12 for rocking movement about a substantially horizontal axis. A fulcrum is formed by a spindle 28 which has threads 30 (FIGURE 4) at each end on which couplings 24 and 26 are threadedly disposed. The spindle may be made of bar stock, but it is preferably made of a plumbers nipple. The nipple has a lower surface welded to the top of turntable 32. It is now evident that the board 12 is capable of rocking movement about an essentially horizontal axis established by spindle 28. When it is desired to lock the board 12 in an essentially horizontal position, a single pin 34 is used. This pin has a head 36' (FIGURE 5) at one end to facilitate withdrawing the pin. In the locked position, pin 34 is passed through a pair of sleeves 38 and 40 which are welded to the sides of couplings 24 and 26, and through an intermediate sleeve 42 which is welded to the top surface of turntable 32. Sleeves 38, 30 and 42 have their bores coaxial so that the pin 34 may be passed through each of the bores, when the board 12 is in the horizontal position. As shown in FIGURE 5 the three sleeves 38, 40 and 42 are located on one side of spindle 28.

Turntable 32 constitutes a portion of the means for mounting the board 12 for rotation about an essentially vertical axis. The remainder of these means include a lower plate 44 located beneath turntable plate 32 and held slightly spaced therefrom by means of a washer 46 or some other suitable spacer. Spindle 48 is fixed to the lower surface of turntable 32 and is passed through aligned openings in spacer 46, lower plate 44 and slee've 50. The sleeve 50 is held concentrically fixed with reference to an outer sleeve 52 by means of upper and lower walls 54 and 56. A grease fitting, for instance Zirk fitting 58, is at the end of a radial tube 60 disposed in aligned openings (FIGURE 4) in sleeves 52 and 50 so that the spindle 48 may be well lubricated, The lower end of spindle 48 cannot move vertically upward since it is threaded and has a pair of nuts 64 thereon contacting washer 66 that bears against the lower surface of Wall 56.

When board 12 is used as a merry-go-round, locking means 70 are released (FIGURE 3). However, when the board 12 is used as a seesaw, locking means 70 are engaged. Locking means 70 consists of a pair of bolts 71 and 72 having eyes 73 and 74 at their inner ends and wing nuts 75 and 76 at their outer ends. The eyes have pivot pins 77 and 78 passed therethrough and passed through apertured mounting brackets 79 and 80 which are welded or otherwise secured to opposite sides of sleeve 52. A pair of notches consisting of notches 81 and 82 are in lower plate 44 and turntable 32, and notches 83 and 84 are in plate 44 and turntable 32. As is evident from inspection of FIGURE 3 when the bolts 71 and 72 are pivotally moved to an upright position, they are engaged in notches 81, 82 and 83, 84 thereby locking turntable 32 with lower plate 44. The lower plate is preferably welded to the wall 54 so that it is immovable with respect to the turntable 32. Therefore the turntable cannot rotate about the longitudinal central axis of spindle 48 which constitutes the axis of rotation for board 12 when it is used as a merry-go-round.

Any suitable means may be used for supporting the mechanism beneath the center of board 12. It is preferred, though, that the supporting means be capable of being anchored and therefore a tripod leg assembly 88 is shown in the drawings. There are three diagonal legs carried into sockets 90 which are welded or otherwise fastened to the outside surface of sleeve 52. The lower extremities of each of the three legs 91, 92 and 93 of the leg assembly are attached, for example, threaded into sockets 94 which are welded to foot plates 95. The foot plates have ground engaging pins 96 depending therefrom, although it is to be clearly understood the foot plates may be bolted down or otherwise anchored.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be'resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A combination seesaw and merry-go-round comprising a board, a pair of internally threaded fittings, means securing said fittings to the bottom of said board intermediate the ends of the board and with the bores of the fittings aligned and transverse of the board, a spindle having threaded ends threadcdly disposed in said internally threaded fittings, a turntable to which-said spindle is secured, a second spindle fixed to said turntable and depending therefrom, means mounting said second spindle in an erect position and for rotation, said mounting means including an upright sleeve within which said second spindle is rotatably disposed, an upper plate fixed above said sleeve and having an aperture through which said second spindle is passed, said turntable rotatable above said plate, and selectively operable locking devices connected respectively between said fittings and said turntable and said plate and said turntable, one of said locking devices including a single pin, at least one sleeve fixed to one of said fittings, another sleeve fixed to said turntable, said pin being separably disposed in the two last mentioned sleeves in order to lock the board in a horizontal position and release the board for tilting movement about the axis of said first mentioned spindle.

2. A combination seesaw and merry-go-round comprising a board, a pair of internally threaded fittings, means securing said fittings to the bottom of said board intermediate the ends of the board and with the bores of the fittings aligned and transverse of the board, a spindle having threaded ends threadedly disposed in said internally threaded fittings, a turntable to which said spindle is secured, a second spindle fixed to said turntable and depending therefrom, means mounting said second spindle in an erect position and for rotation, said mounting means including an upright sleeve within which said second spindle is rotatably disposed, an upper plate fixed above said sleeve and having an aperture through which said second spindle is passed, said turntable rotatable above said plate, and selectively operable locking devices connected respectively between said fittings and said turntable and said plate and said turntable, one of said locking devices including a single pin, at least one sleeve fixed to one of said fittings, another sleeve fixed to said turntable, said pin being separably disposed in the two last mentioned sleeves in order to lock the board in a horizontal position and release the. board for tilting movement about the axis of said first mentioned spindle, the other of said locking devices including at least one bolt which is pivoted at one end to the means mounting said second spindle, said plate and said turntable having a pair of notches within which said bolt is received by pivotally swinging said bolt to a position at which it is nested within said notches and thereby locking said turntable against rotational movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

